New York town clerk rejects same-sex marriage license; governor calls for investigation

According to fivethirtyeight.com, their poll of the week on May 4, 2018, showed that a majority of conservative Republicans oppose same-sex marriage.
Wochit

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo waved to the crowd June 24, 2011, in the state Senate after it legalized same-sex marriage, making New York the sixth and largest state to permit gay marriage.(Photo: Governor's Office)

Dylan Toften of Root, N.Y., wrote Monday on Facebook that Root Town Clerk Laurel “Sherrie” Eriksen would not issue a marriage license to him and his fiancé when they applied last month.

Town attorney Robert Subik confirmed the incident, telling The (Schenectady, N.Y.) Daily Gazette that the license was rejected because the men didn't make an appointment and because of Eriksen's religious beliefs.

"She has a religious objection and has referred the matter to her deputy clerk, who has no such objection and will issue the license when they make an appointment," Subik told the paper in email.

The couple went to Cobleskill, about a dozen miles south, and received the license without problem.

Officials in Root, a town of about 1,700 residents about 40 miles northwest of Albany, could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

Since the same-sex marriage law has been in effect in New York, clerks in several instances declined to process marriage licenses because of their religious beliefs. In at least two cases, those clerks resigned.

Cuomo, a Democrat seeking his third term as governor, called this most recent incident an "unconscionable act of discrimination that goes against our values as New Yorkers."

"Personally I cannot believe that this could happen anywhere in this country, let alone in the state of New York," he said, indicating that he is directing an investigation to ensure the rejection never happens again.

Cuomo also offered to officiate at the couple's wedding, scheduled for Aug. 18.

"On behalf of all New Yorkers, I would like to congratulate Dylan Toften and his future husband on their marriage," the governor said.

The denial of a marriage license to a same sex couple yesterday in Montgomery County is an unconscionable act of discrimination that goes against our values as New Yorkers. I am directing an investigation into this incident to ensure that it never happens again. https://t.co/NAX9963vDt